The new Gail Emms, is Scottish !

Stubborn Gade made it again into the semi's, what a guy. If there's one player of the last decade who never gives up, I think you can hardly go past Gade. And again, just like last year in Paris, (IMHO) it is his famous dropshot that made the difference. Inch-perfect, time and time again. Brilliant.

Cheers, ED

My opinion about the WC :

The final matches were
not so intense I would say. All the players have played well of course
but China got the 5 gold in 2 straight games except for the match of Lin
Dan and Lee Chong Wei.

The men's single was awesome.
Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan showing to the world what real Badminton is. I
really enjoyed that match behind my screen and was really sad that it
has to be a loser for that match.

For WD, it was an all Chinese affair so no fun to watch as the top seed remains unbeatable for a long period.

For
WD, I was waiting for more from Cheng Shao Chieh against Wang Yihan.
Her performance against Schenk from Germany was so good. I was
disappointed to see her lose in two straight games.

For
MD, Cai Yun and Fu Haipheng were to strong for the Koreans  who
couldn't fight as hard as in the first game. No real suspense.

For
Mxd, I was hoping after their great display for the victory of the
English/Scottish pair. They were so agressive against their previous
opponents but couldn't maintain the same level of game in the second
where I saw the Chinese become more comfortable on the court.

It was definitely a great WC with some big upsets and some great matches but the Chinese players still stay at the top.

Jonathan.

About the finales:
WD: after the match, when you could see how Xiaoli cheered, jumped laughed and cryed of happines that she won, I can't help thinking Tian/Zhao should have won. Yang at least smiled a bit (for those who watch carefully). TH is right, the WC's lost all of their glamour when it turned into an annual event. This is just another Super Series, which is called the World Championchip. So I call Tian/Zhao as THE pair of this tournament.

WS: still have to watch the match. No comment yet. THE girl of this tournament however is Cheng.

MS: brilliant play by the best badminton players of the last 5 years. There was a time TH humiliated LD on the WC2005 (at some point it was 11-0). Look what this guy has achieved in the years after that. LCW, he really deserved winning this, but I didn't have one single doubt in my mind LD was simply going to let this happen. It could have gone either way, super match. Constantly forced LCW to his backhand corner at the net. LCW had no choice but to lift the shuttle to LD's backhand side; result: powersmash at LCW's backhand side. Time and time again.
THE man however of this tournament, is Peter Gade. At 34 (same age as Wong Choong Hann, a former World No1 who lost to Ponsana), he again made it into the semi's. Never say die, is what he massively represents. If these WC's are his last, what a way to go. But if you look at all his performances over the last years, this is how he always plays. He wins from all lower ranked players, and looses from higher ranked players, consistently. Not all players can say that. That's why he is World no 3, only 2 guys he cannot win from.
But there's a guy I added to my list of “to watch” players in the comming tournaments: Kevin Cordon.

MD: the final was a good match, but HoWowYow Ko/Yoo(put on the sound when they make a point) in the semies against Ashan/Septano, man this is a magnitude higher. The speed of game is awe-some ! Though this style of play is very prone to error, it is fan-tas-tic to watch ! I said this before, and will say it again: in MD the next generation is ready in the form of a few Korean pairs, these Indonasions and a few Japanese pairs. Can't wait (though Cai and Fu are still the best, and will probably not stop yet, since China have no real succesive pair that meets their game).

XD: the UK have a brilliant new mix pair. Adcock was superb througout the tournament, but Bankier has maintained the quality of game like the Chinese pair in the final. The way she couvered the net, her defence, … I wish I could reach this level. The numbers don't really represent the game of play, but I liked it. I would have hoped for a 3-setter, but they have all the right to be very pleased with their performance, something to be proud of. That makes them THE pair of this tournament for me.

Some sideline info:
Who is in my army (said this before, and will say it again): I have a few devisions in my army. In my “fighter devision” there are 3: Wong Choong Hann, Sho Sasaki and Tien Minh Nguyen. IMHO, he only has one weakness: he moves too much (look at the match Abian-Cordon, Cordon moves very smooth, the Spanish is a good player, but needs a larger portion of energy for moving around). If he would move arround the court efficiently (like LCW, TH, LD, …), TMN would probably be ranked 5 places higher than now. His coach can be anybody in the world, as long as he/she does what he/she is supposed to do. All the other info Jonathan mentioned, I didn't know of, but I can easily imagine this is correct.
Sho Sasaki has been beaten several times TH, LD, Chen Jin, … This guy is 29 and at the end of his carreer, but can be a very tough opponent to beat.
WCH is 34, has had a major injurie a few years ago, but to give you an idea: he was silver medalist on the WC2003 (the fiinal againt Xia Xuanze is on the net, watch it), and was a former world no 1. After recovery of his injurie, he came back as an independant player to the very world top in badminton. It takes character to do this. But I heared the comentators say this was his last WC.
(I know, all players fight to win, but a few of them you have to admit, are really outstanding when it comes to surviving spirit, though Gade would be the uncrowned champion in this category, he is so special, I promoted him to my Golden category ).
What a great initiative the BWF started this broadcasting on YouTube. Who needs those television stations ?

Cheers, ED

Yep, now I saw the final of the WS, Cheng I added to the list of WS players that produce b-e-a-utiful quality badminton. If she can continue on this level, then she will be winning tournaments very soon. She was leading the first half of the first game. Not bad at all, I would say. Though her match against Shenk was more impressive.

Cheers, ED